Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the (a) volume and (b) value of alcohol that has been (i) imported to and (ii) exported from the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). Classification codes (according to the Harmonised System) are available to assist you in accessing published trade statistics data in the UK Global Tariff. Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by an eight-digit commodity code. These are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff.
Alcohol falls within commodity code chapter headings 2203-2208. The full commodity code would depend on the specific type of alcohol. By searching with these codes on uktradeinfo.com you can determine the volume and value of alcohol imported into and exported from the UK.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what definition his Department uses of (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
In line with government standards, HM Treasury commonly refers to the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) definitions of poverty as outlined in the Household Below Average Income (HBAI) publications.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing direct grants to food banks.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Government does not have any role in their operation.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the impact of freezing the personal allowance on the average amount of income tax paid in 2023-24.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is committed to keeping taxes low to support working people to keep more of what they earn. However, the Government must also ensure the UK’s economic stability and provide confidence in the commitment to fiscal discipline. The Chancellor has made clear that the UK’s public finances must be on a sustainable path into the medium term.
Because of above inflation increases to thresholds since 2010, an average worker on £35,400 in 2023-24 will pay over £1,000 less in personal taxes than they otherwise would have done if thresholds had risen by inflation since 2010.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing VAT for the hospitality sector.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Since the start of the pandemic, over £37 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT paid by hospitality businesses, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of having zero VAT on children's bicycles.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Whilst there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.
Zero rating children’s bicycles for VAT purposes would impose additional pressure on the public finances to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax and is forecast to raise £161 billion in 2023/24, helping to fund key spending priorities. Any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS, education and defence. It is also not guaranteed that a reduction in VAT would lead to reduced prices for consumers.
Given this, the government has no plans to remove VAT on children’s bicycles. Nevertheless, the government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on how many and what proportion of the staff of the Financial Ombudsman Service are members of the (a) Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, (b) Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, (c) Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, (d) Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and (e) Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is operationally independent from the Government. Detailed questions about operational matters are for the FOS to respond to.
These questions have been passed to the FOS, which will respond to the honourable member by letter.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health of 11 July 2023 during Health and Social Care oral questions, column 172, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the delivery of the NHS Dental Plan.
Answered by John Glen
The Government is committed to ensuring people can access the health services they need.
In September 2022, Government announced ‘Our plan for patients’ which sets out how we will increase access to NHS dental care in England, whilst making the NHS dental contract more attractive to dental practices to support the delivery. These changes have now been implemented.
The Chancellor and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have regular discussions on a range of health and social care services.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up Communities and Local Government on allowing public land to be sold for below market value when purchased for projects aimed to benefit the local community.
Answered by John Glen
The Treasury is committed to generating maximum benefits from the sale of public land, whether in terms of cash receipts, or by putting land to better use for the public. The Green Book makes clear that policy appraisal should consider costs and benefits to the whole of UK society, not just the public sector or the institution involved.
Cabinet Office, Treasury and DLUHC officials have regular discussions on public land sales.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of VAT on hospitality venues.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Since the start of the pandemic, over £37 billion has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.
VAT is the UK's third largest tax and is forecast to raise £161 billion in 2023/24, helping to fund key spending priorities such as important public services, including the NHS, education and defence. The previous VAT relief for tourism and hospitality cost over £8 billion and reintroducing it would come at a significant further cost.
While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT paid by hospitality businesses, the Government keeps all taxes under review.